CHICAGO -- History did not repeat itself Wednesday night at Guaranteed Rate Field, as the White Sox suffered a 3-2 loss to the Astros and watched their five-game winning streak come to an end, as well as a season-high seven-game streak at home.

Manager Tony La Russa’s crew rallied from a 2-0 deficit with two outs in the eighth inning on Monday and a 3-1 deficit in the seventh on Tuesday, and they certainly had chances to make it three straight. Instead, Chicago fell to 61-57 and dropped to third place in the American League Central, sitting one game behind the Twins and two behind the Guardians, with both teams winning Wednesday.

“Both teams played really good baseball tonight. Got up in the late innings there with opportunities again,” said White Sox center fielder Adam Engel, who had one hit. “Law of averages says you're not going to capitalize every single time, but it felt like we were.”

“We got eight hits. The difference was the defense,” La Russa said. “We hit a lot of balls hard. They turned them into outs, sometimes double plays. We made better contact then two runs.”

Wednesday’s late opportunity came in the eighth, when Eloy Jiménez walked and José Abreu singled with one out against reliever Ryne Stanek and his now 1.09 ERA. Yoán Moncada, who delivered the game-winning hit in each of the first two games, couldn’t get the job done this time in taking a called third strike.

Yasmani Grandal followed with a foul pop out to catcher Martín Maldonado, and slammed his bat in frustration at home plate. Ryan Pressly (24th save) retired the side in order in the ninth.

“We had Yo-Yo up to the plate again,” Engel said. “Felt really good about that spot. Obviously we didn’t come through tonight, but I felt like we played really good baseball and gave ourselves a chance and just didn’t come all the way back.”

Framber Valdez (12-4) tied a Houston franchise record with his 20th straight quality start, while Michael Kopech (4-9) allowed three runs on five hits over six innings in another strong effort following his six no-hit innings against the Tigers. It was a well-played game on both sides, a game with a bit of a playoff atmosphere in mid-August.

“We’ve been fighting. That goes a long way,” Kopech said. “What we did in the last five before tonight was impressive and staying in there with them tonight and keeping the game close, we played hard. As long as we can keep doing that, I think we’re in a good spot.

“I think we know what’s at stake at this point in the year. I don’t know if it’s just this series that's going to feel that way or if it’s going to feel that way from here on out. We know what we’re capable of and we know what needs to be done. We’re going to continue working for that.”